Taste of Innocence ✔

27 - Be Careful With What You Wish For

After Juice had been forced to leave Queens, he never expected to sit in a college room again. A part of him always regretted it. It wasn't like he didn't feel at home in Charming, nor that he disliked to work with cars. But in high school, he had always intended to go to college. He loved to learn new things, to unravel things. Deep down, he was simply a big nerd. 

Now he was sitting here, it felt like he was looking through a window, catching a glimpse of another life. Where he would have been laughing with friends too, checking out hot girls and making a note now and then. This life felt so... simple, so safe. 

Of course that was an illusion – after all, this was just a small part of their lives. The fact that he was sitting here next to Abigail because she felt unsafe, was living proof. But still... still a part of him was longing for some... normalcy. 

From the corner of his eye he watched Abigail. Her eyes were aimed at the beamer screen, her face all concentration. There was a wrinkle on her forehead and she had pouted her lips a bit. In a flash he thought back to the time he had kissed her. It was already more than 6 months ago – and still the heat bubbled up when he thought of it. 

He still wanted her. He would probably always want her. 

The unattainable love – every human being had one, right? 

He had wanted to move on; he had genuinely looked forward to a date with Angel. Which he had cancelled now. Finally he started to realize what Abigail meant, why she would always feel like she came second place. He too had canceled his first date because of the club – and there were no doubts that it would become a habit. 

Maybe this was the reason why Clay was the only one with a stable relationship. Nevertheless... he managed to do it. And if Clay and Gemma were able to maintain a relationship, why wouldn't Abigail and he be able to do so?

He was dragged out of his thoughts when Abigail's eyes met his. She bent over to him and whispered: "Stop staring at me like that, it's creepy."

"I'm training you," he smirked. "Maybe it will help you to expose your stalker."

"Well it works, you're clearly a distraction."

"I'm just looking at the prettiest girl in class, isn't that what college boys are supposed to do?"

To his surprise, her cheeks flushed. 

He leaned into her and whispered: "I thought we were past the blushing stage."

"I'm not blushing. I'm annoyed."

"With those flushing cheeks?"

He started to laugh when she elbowed his side, making various classmates turn around to look at them. Still smirking, Juice opened the notebook Abigail had given him and started to draw. 

. . .

Juice would almost forget why he was here. He didn't feel like a bodyguard; it felt like he was just hanging out with his best friend. She didn't look scared, nor nervous. She felt comfortable around him and knowing she felt safe with him... it was the best feeling he'd ever had. 

By now, four days had passed. He hadn't noticed signs of a stalker, although he was a little afraid they were distracting each other too much. 

After a long day of college they got themselves French fry and sat down on a swing. 

"Tonight Ashley invited some people over to have a movie marathon," she said. "You wanna go somewhere else?"

"What kind of movies? Some sappy ones?"

Abigail started to laugh. "Come on, you don't know her at all? You're camping in her room for four days now. It's probably going to be Saw."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I've barely seen her, she's always with that new fling of hers." She had even given her bed to him; only the first night he had slept on an air mattress. "I don't mind to watch some movies. If they won't scare you."

He said it in a teasing tone, although he was serious. If you believed someone was after you, watching horror movies probably wasn't the best idea. 

"After three years of living with a horror fan you'll get used to anything," she said. She got up and tossed the empty can in the wastebasket. Juice stood up too, dumped the garbage and with a detour they walked back to the apartment block. Meanwhile he got his eye on their surroundings, still aware of a possible stalker. 

But there was nothing – again there was nothing. He didn't like it; he really wanted to report something useful to the club. 

That one had to be careful with what he wished, was brought back in memory a few minutes later. 

Abigail had just opened the door to her room when she screamed, grabbing his hand. Juice looked to the side; there were red letters on the wall. 'I WILL KILL YOU', was written in bloody swipes. 

Abigail started to sob and Juice pulled her in his arms while his glance slid across the letters. It wasn't the text alone that had shocked her; there was a doll in her bed, the face painted white and the eyes black. The white dress was covered in red smudges. 

Someone had stuck a knife in the doll's chest.